Fifty shades of gross……

Lisa was slumped in her chair. She had finally stopped vomiting, although her stomach felt as if it could begin again any second. Mitch was cleaning up the mess she had made, his face scrunched into an expression of disgust. He couldn’t believe that she had eaten so much. It wouldn’t have bothered him so much, blood and death, shit and vomit, were all by-products of his job. But Lisa had redecorated his kitchen with gobs of undigested food, and that was something that Mitch could not deal with. No one had ever been allowed in his home before, and having the very first person ever to enter to throw up all over everything, NOPE, NOT acceptable!

“I’m sorry”, Lisa’s voice was soft and miserable. She felt awful, not only physically but for making such a mess. Mitch had been nothing but nice to her, he had done whatever he could to make her comfortable. But she had to make a hog out of herself and then turn into some type of vomit fountain. She was mortified. She couldn’t even look him in the eye, of course that would be difficult right now anyway, seeing as how he was on his hands and knees scrubbing the floor with a scrub brush. He’d cleaned the sink and the counters, he’d scrubbed and bleached almost every surface in the kitchen.

Lisa didn’t understand why he didn’t just wave his hand and make it all go away. Being Death would have afforded him that particular ability, along with untold others. But he choose to clean by hand, something Lisa wouldn’t do if there were an alternative.

Standing up and stretching, Mitch walked to the trash can, peeled off his gloves and toss them into the bin. He stood staring off into space for a few seconds, then turned to face Lisa. Her face was tinged with green, not the ghoul green that had graced her skin after her death, but the slight green that was unique to humans when they were ill.

It was heartwarming to see.

“So, now that we’re done with that, what say we go outside and relax for a bit?” Mitch was doing his best to keep the amusement from his voice. Although it had been pitiful to see her so ill, it was a sure sign that things were progressing nicely.

Lisa raised her head to glance at him. She still felt sick, but at least she wasn’t spewing like a Crown City fountain. Shaking her head, she slowly climbed to her feet.

“You want to go ‘relax’? That’s all you have to say after I redecorated your kitchen?” Lisa quipped sarcastically. “I want to die. Oh wait, been there, done that!”

Mitch burst out laughing. To hear her smart ass remarks made him positive that he’d made the right decision hiding her from Lucifer. This little woman would be either the salvation or the destruction of them all.

Grabbing her hand, he half dragged her out of the house and onto the patio. Fresh air had always helped Mitch to feel better, hopefully it would have the same effect on Lisa. Watching her face as she breathed in the fresh, sweet air, Mitch felt a tug of emotion, one that he hadn’t experienced in centuries. He was beginning to have feeling for this little female, and feelings were always dangerous.

Reluctantly dropping her hand, Mitch gazed out over the beautiful land surrounding his home. When he had first settled here, back before the white man had invaded and forced the original peoples out, it had taken an extreme amount of energy to keep his home hidden from the view of the few humans that wandered by. Now, after so many centuries of keeping his home hidden from view, it didn’t take much effort to accomplish the same task. It had become child’s play to keep this place hidden from any who dared to look.

Mitch glanced over at Lisa. Her color was returning to normal, well, to normal for a living being. He knew he was going to have to explain things to her soon, but he wanted to enjoy a few moments of quiet before venturing into that territory.

Lisa knew Mitch was gazing at her, she could feel his eyes on her and it made her uncomfortable. It had been decades since a man looked at her with that intense, interested expression. She had pretty much given up on that elusive emotion that some called love. She had found out from experience that normal men don’t ‘love’ dead girls, and the type of man that does love dead girls are not the type of people you want to spend time with.

“What are you looking at?” Lisa quietly asked. “I’d think in your line of work you’d seen plenty of dead girls.”

Mitch chuckled. Even though Lisa was miserable, she still had that sharp wit and sharper tongue.
“Yeah, I see my fair share.” Mitch admitted.

“Speaking of dead, am I still dead? I mean, undead or whatever it is they call something like me.” Lisa’s voice held a hint of desperation. “Should I continue to dig my dinner out of the local cemetery or what?”
Mitch wasn’t sure how to answer that. There had never been a being like the one standing before him. That bitch Fred had caused one hell of a mess this time.

“I’m not really sure.” Mitch said. “I don’t have any experience with, well, with whatever it is you’re becoming.”

“Whatever I’m becoming?!?!?! What the fuck does that mean? YOU don’t know what I am?” Lisa was angry. And scared. “If you don’t know, who the fuck does? Momma Fred? Should I be asking her? Or that shit-heel Lucy?”

Mitch guffawed. Hearing her call Lucifer ‘Lucy’ was entirely too funny. No one had the guts to refer to the big, bad, evil businessman as ‘Lucy’ except Momma Fred, who did so in order to throw him off balance, and this little woman, who didn’t realize who, or what, he was.

“No”, Mitch managed between chuckles, “I doubt either of them would have any answers for you.”
Lisa turned away from him, her stance stiff and tight. She stood as still as a statue for a long moment before turning back to him, tears streaked her face, tears that were tinged bright red with blood.

“Then who has answers? You say you don’t know, that Momma Fred or Lucy don’t know. Someone HAS to know what I am.” Lisa’s voice was tight with anger and underlying fear. Reaching up, she swiped the dampness from her cheek. Looking at her hand, she noticed the redness of the tears. “And what the fuck is this? BLOOD?? You’re shitting me, I’m crying blood???”

Mitch just looked at her in complete helplessness. He could see that there was blood tingeing her tears, but he had no answers as to why. He had no answers for any of her questions, and he didn’t believe anyone else did. Hopelessly he shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s it??” She screamed, “That is all you have? A should shrug? What the fuck does that even mean? You don’t know? You don’t care? What the fuck, man! I thought you were my friend, but I guess there are plenty of young woman who followed you into traffic only to be run over by a bus, right?”

She began to pace, seeming unable to contain the anger and fear that surged through her body.

“Fuck! One day I’m a young woman with a life ahead of me, walking home from work when I see this gorgeous man. YOU were that gorgeous man, in case you’re wondering, but I know you’re not. I follow you, just on the chance that I might be able to just say hi, maybe catch your eye, maybe….hell I don’t know, meet you? Then WHAM, I’m slammed into by a cross town bus! No pain, just fear and the though OH FUCK, then nothing.”

Lisa stopped and whirled to face him.

“Next thing I know I’m lying on a table, naked as the day I was born and surrounded by candles. What the holy fuck?? Then I find out I have to eat HUMAN meat in order to maintain some semblance of normal human appearance, after years of that my nose decides to fall off and I eat some fucked up sandwich from the bitch that brought me back and here I am now. Oh, I forgot, I was held hostage in an office building by a man I can only guess is the big, bad Lucifer from Biblical times.”

Silence descended. She crumbled to the patio floor and curled into a ball, effectively shutting down.
Mitch stood quietly, unsure of how to proceed. He wasn’t used to dealing with emotional women, hell he wasn’t used to dealing with women at all. He caught their souls as they met their ends and moved those souls to their place of waiting. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. No conversation, no emotion, no anything. That was the reason he drove the taxi, he had discovered that he needed some interaction to stay sane.  Not that he thought he was actually sane, just saying.

When Lisa’s tears had dried and her breathing became even and regular, Mitch bent down, picked her up like a mother picking up a sleeping child and headed back into the house.

He would lay her on the couch and let her rest. It was going to be a long, long day and she needed all the strength she could muster.

Toe jam and toast…..

So what has been going on with our little ghoul and cohorts the last few days?  Here is a brief glimpse into their situation and the twists and turns that are plaguing them.  It’s about to get interesting!

While Titus spent the remainder of the morning trying not to reveal things that were best left undiscovered, Lisa was enjoying a long, leisurely brunch with Mitch aka Death.  Bacon, eggs, toast, jelly and all the fixings, along with an assortment of meat, cheese, vegetables and more kinds of bread than she could ever remember seeing.

She’d been somewhat of a bread whore when she was alive.

‘Oh shit’, she thought, ‘I AM alive!’

With the thought ricocheting around in her brain, she gathered up three slices of the most exotic bread she’d ever seen and placed them on her plate.  Then she added several types of cheese, she loved cheese too, a few slices of meat and several toppings.  It was time to munch!

Cramming a tomato slice in her mouth, she headed toward the table.

“So”, she mumbled around a mouthful of tomato, her voice muffled and wet sounding, “explain to me why I’m able to sit here and munch on a tomato instead of having to have a toe-jam sandwich.”

Mitch looked confused.  It was obvious that her humor had caught him off guard. 

“What?”  He asked.

“What, what?”  She replied, although it came out sounding like a noise a sick duck would make instead of a woman asking a question.

Mitch sighed.  Was she being purposely being obstinate or was this just her real personality shining through?

“What is a ‘toe-jam sandwich’?”  He asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Lisa had filled her mouth with an assortment of cheese, tomatoes and meat.  She contently chewed on the mess like a cow chewing its cud, periodically opening her mouth to expose a disgusting mash up of colors and textures.  Swallowing a huge mouthful, she chewed a little more and swallowed again.  Reaching for the orange juice that was sitting on the table, she swigged directly from the jug, the backwash causing Mitch to blanch and subconsciously wonder if he had more in the refrigerator.

“A toe-jam sandwich is exactly what it sounds like”, she answered, reaching for yet another tomato slice.  “You jam a couple of toes between bread smeared with blood pudding.”

“Toes?” Mitch blanched.  “Human toes?”

Chewing contently, Lisa nodded. 

“Yup”, she managed to mumble through a mouthful of tomato.  

Mitch leaned against the counter, he had realized that she usually dined on human flesh, but she usually she wasn’t so blasé about it.  In all the years he had known her, she seemed to starve herself to the point of destruction before she would eat any flesh.   And she would never discuss it with anyone.

Now it seemed as though she wasn’t the least bit grossed out by her previous eating habits.    Although her current eating habits were enough to put most creatures off their feed.

Watching her stuff more and more food into her mouth, Mitch wondered where she were putting all of it.  He had never seen another creature go through so much food.  She had actually eaten everything within arm’s reach and was now getting up to stalk the platters that lined the counter.

“Lisa”, he said, “I think maybe you should slow down.  We’re not sure how your body is going to….”

He never got to finish before she knocked him out of the way in her feeble attempt to reach the sink before she hurled.

Unfortunately for them both, she was unsuccessful.

While Mitch was staring in horror at the endless fount of vomit that was Lisa, there was a drama of an entirely different kind playing out across town.

Titus had talked for hours, revealing more about himself than he had meant to, but managing to reveal less than he expected he would about Death. 

It was difficult to think about his one-time friend.  He and Democritus had lived, loved and fought side by side.  He had witnessed his friend evolve from a rich, scholar to a war hardened killer to a tortured, miserable shell of a man.  One that chose to sell his soul for vengeance, regardless of the price it exacted.

Lucifer must never know the reason that Titus knew so much, it would be the downfall of them all if that information came to light.  To keep such a secret was to risk all, but it could not be helped.

“So, Death and you were all buddy-buddy?  What difference does that make?”  Lucifer had hoped to gain insight into how to find Death, not learn his biography.  “If you don’t have anything more interesting to tell me you can get out!  I need to find him, not relearn history!”

Lucifer sprang from his chair and began to pace, with the way things were going he’d have to replace the flooring in a week, he’d already scuffed the varnish in a few places.  He hated it when things were out of his control, and things couldn’t be more out of his control than they were now.

The shit was about to hit the proverbial fan, and he was in direct line of fire.

“Who was he?  Why is he able to hide from us?”  Lucifer mumbled, his feet pounding a beat as he paced back and forth, back and forth.

“Sir”, Titus began, “his name was Democritus and he was a scientist, a philosopher and a warrior.  When he was a living being he was one of the most respected people in Abdera and a cohort of Hercules.”

Titus looked down, tears sprang to his eyes as he said, “He was my friend.”

The tone of Titus’ voice stopped Lucifer in his tracks.  He had never heard the Bloodhound of Hell exhibit anything other than anger and hatred.  Nothing had ever seemed to affect him, he was always a cold hearted bastard who did what was expected of him.

“Why does this affect you so?  What is he to you?”  Lucifer squinted his eyes as if trying to see Titus differently.  “Were you lovers?  Is that way you are so reluctant to find him?  Or is it something else?”

Titus raised his head and looked at Lucifer.  The look in his eyes would have frozen a lesser being’s soul, but Lucifer’s soul was safely tucked away in a golden vessel hidden from view.  One could never be too careful with their soul.

Lucifer stared at Titus.  It was unusual for Satan’s Bloodhound to defy a request, let alone to outright ignore an order.  There was something about his relationship to Death, some little nugget of truth that Titus wouldn’t divulge.  Lucifer didn’t want to involve his father in this mess.  That would be disastrous not to mention painful. 

There had to be a way to get Titus to talk.  A way that didn’t involve torture, after two thousand years Titus was almost immune to torture.  Lucifer knew there was nothing he could use to threaten Titus with, the man had lost everything that was important to him long ago.  That loss had prompted him to sell his soul, he couldn’t live with the pain and guilt that burned his soul every second of every day. 

Lucifer stopped pacing and slowly walked back to his chair.  He plopped down, leaned back and put his feet up.  It was going to be a long, long day so he might as well get comfortable.  If Titus couldn’t help him, if there was no information forthcoming, then Lucifer was going to have to come up with a different plan. 

“Get out of here.  I’m sure my father has something for you to do.”  Lucifer dismissed Titus with a wave of his hand. 

Caught up in his own problems and schemes, he didn’t even notice the other man smiling as he existed the room.

Bedrooms and dungeons…..

Have y’all been wondering what was going on with our group of assorted ghouls, demons and Voodoo Queens?  Well, you’re in luck.  Here is the next installment of Nearly Departed!!
 
For the second time in twenty-four hours, Lisa woke in a strange bed. ‘This is becoming a habit’, she thought as she stretched and yawned. The revelations of last night slammed into her consciousness like a freight train, causing her to stare at the small, crescent shaped scab that graced the flap of skin between her thumb and finger.

There it was. There was proof that her heart was pumping blood through her veins, her skin was regenerating and she was, for all points and purposes, alive. Or something close to it.

She sighed and looked around. This room wasn’t quite as masculine as the one she woke up in yesterday. It had a light airy touch that made the dark paneling seem to glow with perfection. The white and blue flowered drapes and matching bedspread would look great in a lakeside cabin, while the whimsical prints on the wall would be at home in any environment.

Apparently Mitch, aka Death, was a talented decorator, or at least had access to one. Who would have guessed?

Getting out of bed, Lisa was happy to see she had on the same Armani suit she wore yesterday. At least no one had taken advantage of her while she was out. She wasn’t so sure about her stint at Lucifer’s place. She had begun to get glimpses and memories of her time there, and it wasn’t something she wanted to examine right now.

Stretching again, she was amazed that she felt so good. Escaping the clutches of Lucifer and Momma Fred, leaving the building and making the amazing escape to this wonderful house was exhausting. Then finding out that she wasn’t actually as dead as she had thought, well, that would overwhelm even the strongest of people. Lisa knew she wasn’t the ‘est’ of anything, be it strength or intelligence.

Glancing at her reflection in the mirror, Lisa was stunned by the sight that met her blurry eyes. The woman in the mirror was beautiful, her hair shone with life, her skin was pink with the blush of life and her eyes glimmered with mirth.

Lisa was amazed! She hadn’t looked so good the first time she was alive. She had always thought of herself as being a frumpy girl, not one that any man worth having would be attracted to. The woman she saw in the mirror was alive, assured and filled with promise.
There was an extra spring in her life as she opened the door and headed out to find the kitchen and that amazing first cup of coffee that promised to keep her mood light. The hallway was lit by soft yellow light of well-placed wall scones. The deep, rich burgundy carpet swallowed the sound of her footsteps, making it seem as though she were walking on sunset clouds.

All in all the hallway was the most amazing place she had ever seen.

The sinful carpeting ended as she came to a large, wide staircase. Pausing to look over the rail, Lisa spied Mitch watering a large ficus plant sitting by the door. He was dressed in cutoff jeans and his signature black silk shirt over a green t-shirt blazed with the name of some old seventies band. He looked every bit as decadent as the hallway.
Skipping lightly down the stairs, Lisa found herself looking forward to the day. As Mitch glanced up at her, she realized that no matter what happened now, it promised to be interesting. And interesting was good!

As Mitch and Lisa made their way toward the kitchen, a battle resumed across town.
Lucifer still hadn’t been able to find even a hint of where the two runaways were hiding. He knew that Death could cause him unforeseen trouble, but that was nothing compared to the trouble that would raise its’ ugly head if Lisa made any unsupervised discoveries about herself.

The fact that she was in Death’s control made it a sure bet that there would be discoveries made, and each and every one of them would bring torturous disaster down on Lucifer’s head.

In a fit of rage, he threw his phone across the room only to watch it shatter in a million pieces.

“FUCK!” He raged. “Titus, get your useless ass in here!”

His voice carried to the deepest, darkest pits of hell. Titus quaked with fear, whatever unexpected event that had set his boss off meant pain of the most heinous type of the second in command. Taking a deep breath, Titus flashed himself outside of Lucifer’s study. Steeling himself for the torrent of pain he was about to experience, he knocked.
The answer came immediately.

“Get the fuck in here. NOW!” Lucifer’s voice threatened to break the windows, which would in turn cause him to be even more pissed off.

What a day this was turning out to be.

“You called for me, sir?” Titus hid the loathing and fear that he was feeling. He buried it deep in his soul, a place that Lucifer could never invade. “I came as quickly as I could.”

“’I came as quickly as I could.’ Sure you did.” Lucifer mocked. “Sit your ass down and explain to me why we can’t find that damnable fuck we all know as Death.”

Titus had been gone for a few days, he had spent some much needed time in the 15^th century, visiting the places and people he loved.

“Sir?” Titus couldn’t keep the tremble from his voice. “I’m not sure what you are talking about. I’ve been gone, Sir. Remember, you said I could take a few days as a reward for fixing that little problem with Satan.”

Titus had taken a royal beating from the Big Boss. Satan was enraged by Lucifer’s incompetence in securing the loyalty of a particular politician. It had taken Titus an entire day just to be able to drag himself from the pits of hell and back to his home. Lucifer was, at the time, thankful that Titus had taken the blame and the punishment that only his father, Satan, could dish out.

Now it looked as though Titus was in line for another beating, or worse. He’d never seen his ‘Boss’ as angry, and fearful, as he was right at this moment.

Lucifer sat looking at the demon before him. He remembered the day he bought Titus’s soul in exchange for the ability to return to a happier time. Titus realized that nothing he experienced there would actually change history, but it did afford him a respite from the torments of his day to day life. What Titus hadn’t realized was that the moment he sold his soul he would exist forever. He would have to live with the memories of his failures, and how those failures led to the torture and deaths of every single person he had ever loved.

“I remember.” Lucifer’s voice was flat and emotionless. “But you’re back now and we have a very serious problem.”

“Sir?” Titus knew when Lucifer said they had a ‘problem’ it meant Titus had a problem.

“Death is hiding someone from me. And by hiding I mean that none of my resources can even get a whisper of his location. I need what he had, and I need it now!” Lucifer’s voice rose in volume and anger as he continued to speak. “I expect you to find him, retrieve my item and bring it back here to me. Are you capable of doing that?”

“Sir? I’m not sure of what item you are speaking, but if you will enlighten me, I’m sure I can find it. I am, after all, the bloodhound of hell.” Titus couldn’t help but to prod Lucifer just a little. His father, Satan, had named Titus the bloodhound of hell a few years ago when a certain angel had hidden from both sides after a brief and disastrous affair with a congressman.

Lucifer bristled. He knew he couldn’t actually harm Titus in any real way, but usually threatening him worked just as well. Although he did enjoy beating the lowly demon to unconsciousness from time to time.

This time he knew that Titus would be reluctant to grab the little ghoul that was at the core of all their problems, but reluctant or not, Titus was the best demon for the job. Shifting uncomfortably in his chair, Lucifer tried to formulate the correct way to bend Titus to his will.

“I said for you to sit, if you can that is.” Pity tinged Lucifer’s tone, he’d seen the damage that his father could and would inflict upon those that displeased him, although this time Titus had taken the blame for Lucifer’s fuck up, saving him from the wrath of his father.

Titus eased his large, lanky body into the chair across from Lucifer’s desk. He was sore, but the worse of the pain had eased, in part because of his visit home. There was nothing like seeing your loved ones to ease the physical and emotional pain that haunted him daily.

“I can sit.” Titus’ voice was deadpan. “I don’t understand what you expect of me now, though. I am sure I cannot find the item you are referring to if Death has hidden it from your sight. He’s a tricky one, Death is. He was tricky when he was a man, and he’s worse since he has become the thing he is now.”

Lucifer’s attention was caught by the fact that Titus had known Death prior to his present incarnation. He had never meet anyone that had experience with his nemesis in his previous incarnation. Perhaps there was a tidbit of information that Titus didn’t realize the possessed.

“So”, Lucifer began, “you knew him before he became Death? When was that?”

Titus realized he had revealed more than he meant to. Now there was no way out of it, he would have to tell Lucifer at least part of the story of his friend’s decent into darkness, a decent that Titus was partially responsible for.

Sitting in the chair across the desk from one of the most dangerous beings in creation, Titus took a deep breath and began a tale of one man’s fall to madness.

Death's story is finally coming to light, and it promises to be an interesting one!!  Meanwhile, what could possibly be going on with our little ghoul?  Is she really coming back to life, or is it all an illusion?  Stay tuned to find out!